The NASCAR Cup Series travels to its first true short track of the 2025 season. DraftKings is hosting a $100K grand prize fantasy NASCAR contest. Check out the DFS NASCAR rankings below and make your fantasy racing picks for the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville.
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Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $400K Engineer [$100K to 1st] (Cup)
1. Denny Hamlin ($10,700) — Martinsville is a short track. The NASCAR Cup Series drivers will turn 400 laps on Sunday. That means a lot of Hog Points are on the table (fast-lap and lap-led points). Hamlin scored over 20 Hog Points in four of the last five Martinsville races, with high marks of 65 and 92 Hog Points.
2. Kyle Larson ($11,000) — Setups matter. Hendrick has always known the secret to speed at “The Paperclip.” Larson struggled at Martinsville when he raced for Chip Ganassi, but he knows the secrets now that he races for Mr. H. Larson has four podiums in the last five Martinsville races, with his worst finish being sixth. Last season, he scored over 30 Hog Points in both races.
3. Ryan Blaney ($11,200) — Will it be Yung Money or Young Blaney in Victory Lane this week? Blaney has won the last two fall Martinsville races. NASCAR will be using the same tire — the softest in the history of NASCAR — as the fall race. Blaney managed tire wear exceptionally well and pulled away in the end.
4. William Byron ($10,400) — The Martinsville setup can change from spring to fall. Byron won the 2024 and 2022 spring races. Similar to his HMS teammate, Byron scored over 30 Hog Points in both Martinsville races last season.
5. Chase Elliott ($9,900) — The No. 9 Hendrick Chevy may not have been the fastest car on the track last fall. Alan Gustafson’s setup may not have been No. 1, but his strategy was. The team opted for a two-stop strategy late in the race, and it paid off. Elliott finished second and scored 61 Hog Points. He also finished third in the spring race.
6. Joey Logano ($9,600) — Team Penske is no stranger to Victory Lane. Logano has celebrated on the faux stage at this track, too small to have an actual Victory Lane. It’s been a while since he’s visited, but his average finish over the last eight races is sixth.
7. Christopher Bell ($10,200) — The 2024 Martinsville races were not Bell’s best work. The No. 20 JGR Toyota struggled in traffic last fall. Worse than that, Bell was penalized for doing a “Hail Melon” and riding the wall at the end. Bell would like to erase that embarrassing Martinsville memory with a solid Sunday in Southside VA.
8. Austin Cindric ($8,500) — Some see Cindric as a sleeper, but DraftKings doesn’t. They’ve seen the speed and priced him accordingly. NASCAR debuted its softest tire ever last fall at Martinsville, and Cindric was the best driver at managing tire falloff in that race.
9. Chase Briscoe ($9,300) — The SHR Fords always performed well at short tracks. Even when SHR was struggling, they were consistent at Martinsville. Briscoe has better equipment this season. The No. 19 JGR Toyota is always set up properly by James Small at Martinsville.
10. Ryan Preece ($7,500) — The best RFK driver is Preece. Could he win this week? It’s a stretch, but a top-five or top-10 finish is on the table. Preece has a top-20 finish in four straight races at Martinsville — and that was with average-at-best equipment.
11. Bubba Wallace ($7,200) — He hasn’t quite cracked the code at Martinsville, but Bubba is getting better. This could be his best yet. His new crew chief, Charles Denike, swept the 2024 Craftsman Truck Series races in dominant fashion (with Christian Eckes).
12. Austin Dillon ($6,500) — Ace has always been strong at Martinsville, but he’ll likely carry low ownership. Nepotism outrage is pervasive these days, but Dillon caught the heat before it was popular. He’s a divisive driver. He doesn’t care. His 2024 win at Richmond — a short, flat track — is proof.
13. Todd Gilliland ($5,600) — Gilly has reunited with former crew chief Chris Lawson. The two found success at Martinsville in the Truck Series. Without Lawson, Gilliland still held his own at this short, flat track. He’s earned a top-15 finish in three of the last five Martinsville races.
14. Shane Van Gisbergen ($5,900) — AI analyzed every single lap of the fall 2024 Martinsville race and created an advanced metric for measuring each driver’s tire management. SVG was the second-best at limiting tire degradation. The Supercars champ finished 12th.
15. Burt Myers ($4,700) — The Bowman Gray legend deserves some pub. Myers may not stand a chance, but that’s an equipment issue, not a talent issue. This isn’t a joke NASCAR DFS pick. Myers provides the max savings necessary to chase multiple hogs. If he keeps his car clean, he could post a decent fantasy score through attrition.
